East Africa

Simandou Iron Ore Project: A New Era for Guinea In a significant development for West Africa's economic landscape, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Guinea's military leader, Mamadou Doumbouya, have officially inaugurated the Simandou Iron Ore Project in Conakry. This historic project, often heralded as one of the largest mineral development initiatives globally, promises not only to reshape Guinea's economy but also to significantly influence the international iron ore market. A Long-Awaited Vision Decades in the making,…

From Flight to Fight: Ramla Ali’s return to Kenya turns advocacy into action A champion steps back into a familiar story On a bright morning in Nairobi’s Dandora neighborhood, Ramla Ali pulled on gloves—this time not for sparring, but to sort plastic and cardboard alongside dozens of women in a community recycling yard. The Somali-born boxer, model, and UNICEF ambassador moved quickly along the line, measuring, weighing, and bagging materials that would help turn a day’s work into a day’s pay for refugee mothers. Kids…

In Search of Justice: The Trial of Roger Lumbala Tshitenga As a tangible symbol of hope for accountability, the trial of former Congolese rebel leader Roger Lumbala Tshitenga opened its doors in Paris recently. It signifies a pivotal moment not only for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but also for the global fight against impunity for war crimes. Amidst the shadow of past atrocities from the Second Congo War (1998-2003), this courtroom drama unfolds with reverberations that could transcend borders and resonate deeply…

TotalEnergies’ $4.5 billion demand tests Mozambique’s post-conflict recovery When the French energy giant TotalEnergies pressed Mozambican authorities this month to cover U.S.$4.5 billion in “costs of closure” as a precondition for returning to its troubled northern operations, it handed a politically combustible problem to a country still wrestling with violence, displacement and fragile state finances. The demand — disclosed in a letter to the presidency and reported by Mozambican sources — bundles several company…

Farmaajo Returns to a Changed Mogadishu — And a High-Stakes 2026 Race Begins MOGADISHU — The political weather in Somalia shifted on Thursday with the return of former president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, widely known as Farmaajo, after more than two years abroad. He arrived to a rousing welcome at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport — lawmakers, veteran politicians, and clusters of supporters waving flags and phone cameras — and immediately became the most consequential opposition figure in the capital. His timing…

Conflict, poverty and collapsing services: why cholera is surging again "Peace is health," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeats in briefings, a blunt reminder that infectious disease is not merely a biological problem but a political and social one. In late August 2025, WHO warned the world that cholera is resurging — and that the drivers are familiar: armed conflict, broken water and sanitation systems, deepening poverty and strained vaccine supplies. The warning is not abstract.…

Prominent Zimbabwean pastor Walter Magaya granted bail amid fraud and rape allegations HARARE — A Harare judge on Monday allowed prominent pastor Walter Magaya to be released on bail as he faces a tangle of criminal accusations that have roiled Zimbabwe’s religious and civic life. Magaya, the charismatic founder of the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries, and his wife, Tendai, remain under investigation on fraud charges tied to a multimillion-dollar church housing project that prosecutors say never materialised. He…

Somalia’s New Opposition Bloc Warns of ‘Red Lines’ as Federalism Wobbles NAIROBI — In a city that often hosts Somali politics in exile, a newly formed alliance of regional leaders and opposition figures gathered Wednesday and issued the sort of warning that lands with a thud in Mogadishu: Do not bend the country’s fragile constitutional order. Do not change the rules without consensus. Do not extend your mandate. And do not squeeze Somalia’s federal system until it breaks. Calling itself the Somali Future Council, the bloc…

Zimbabwean opposition figure Job Sikhala detained in South Africa; party blame and questions about evidence When Job Sikhala, a senior opposition politician from Zimbabwe, was arrested in South Africa this week after police say they found blasting cartridges and capped fuse connectors in his vehicle, supporters and fellow opposition figures immediately cried foul. Sikhala — who has accused Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF of orchestrating the incident — now faces an uncertain legal fight in a country that has long been a refuge…

EU warship seizes suspected pirate ‘mother ship’ off Somalia after tanker hijack; 24 crew freed unharmed A 30-hour standoff ends without casualties in the Western Indian Ocean European naval forces have captured an Iranian-flagged dhow believed to have served as a pirate “mother ship” in the hijacking of the oil products tanker Hellas Aphrodite, bringing a tense 30-hour standoff to a close and freeing all 24 crew members unharmed, officials said. Operation Atalanta, the European Union’s counter-piracy mission, said the dhow…